The Naughty List
by writerchic16
Summary: To redeem herself for being on Santa's naughty list all through her childhood, Alex decides to help Santa prepare for Christmas, which she finds might not be happening this year.
1. Chapter 1

**The Naughty List**

Summary: To redeem herself for being on Santa's naughty list all through her childhood, Alex decides to help Santa prepare for Christmas, which she finds might not be happening this year.

A/N: This is really a tester chapter for me. I'm still working out the details, and it might be a little while before I update again. However, I have the beginning worked out so that should be up shortly - wanted to give myself time so I can finish it before Christmas Eve.

Other chapters won't be this short, I promise.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

An annoying classic holiday song cover still stuck in her head, Alex Russo arrived back at the Manhattan loft she called home, full shopping bags on her arms. She found herself humming said holiday song as she passed through the common area and went up to her room, where she planned to go over the presents she bought. They were mostly for herself, of course, but there were a few items for her family members' Christmas presents. She particularly liked a pair of earrings she bought Harper and was debating whether she should keep those as well.

While she liked the results of her shopping, she wished the trip had been more enjoyable. She didn't mind shopping by herself, of course, but she would've liked Harper to come. Unfortunately, the better student was spending that Saturday in mid-December at the library, where she could "finally" get some peace and quiet to do her report for school. Alex had the same report to do, but of course she couldn't care less if she ever got around to it.

At least she'd been able to pick up some Christmas presents for Harper, and some gifts she had in mind for other members of her family. Her generally uncaring attitude would give the impression that she considered herself "too cool for Christmas." However, people were often surprised to find that she loved the holiday...Halloween was her favorite, but Christmas came close, and she always tried to get in the spirit. After all, what other time of year could you write a list of stuff you want, and then tell people to get it for you? And though she wouldn't admit it, she_did_ like the giving aspect too. Making other people - particularly her parents - happy for once, instead of angry, was actually kind of nice.

But when she opened her bedroom door, all thoughts of Christmas cheer disappeared as she dropped her bags in shock. Her roomwas_covered_ with what looked like pieces of cotton. And, much to her horror, the empty, mangled body of one of her stuffed animals lay on the floor next to her bed.

"What the _heck_ happened here?" Alex wondered aloud as she approached the stuffed animal remains. She froze when she realized which one it was.

It was her beloved Mr. Ed, the brown pony she'd had since she was five. She'd gotten it "from Santa" that year, and when her dad jokingly suggested it, the name stuck. It was her comfort, the childhood object she pulled out whenever she got in trouble.

In that overwhelming moment, she remembered that Max had brought home a dog he was watching for a neighbor. And she'd left Mr. Ed on her bed.

"_Max_!" Alex screeched, so loud she was sure the whole neighborhood must have heard it.. She grabbed the ruined fur, which was partially coated in slobber, and ran for her little brother's room. Her soon-to-be _former_ little brother's room.

She dashed through the living room and made a beeline for the side hallway. "Max Russo! Get out here so I can hurt you!" When there was no response, she went to his room, but found the door open and the room empty. Furious, she let out an aggravated scream and stormed back into the common area.

Tense from anger, she actually jumped when the door opened. Her parents walked in - they must have been done with the shop for the day since it was late. And they were followed by Max.

"There you are, you horse killer!" Alex cried, then whipped out her wand. At that point she didn't care that her parents were also in the room.

Terrified, Max backed up until he hit the front door, confusion mixed in with the fear. "What are you talking about?"

"That stupid dog you watched killed Mr. Ed!" Alex accused as she held up Mr. Ed's limp body. "How would you like it if I turned you into a stuffed animal and ripped _you_ to shreds, huh?"

At that point, their parents intervened. Jerry stepped in between them and held out his arms like a referee, and Theresa grabbed Alex's wand out of her hand fast before the enraged wizard could pull it away. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jerry said in a deep, intimidating voice. "_No one_ is turning anyone into _anything_. Alex, I'm sorry about your stuffed animal, but that's no excuse to threaten your brother with bodily harm."

"Why are you even mad at me? Comet's the one who did it," Max said in his typical irritatingly oblivious manner.

That only increased Alex's anger, and she tried to take her wand back from her mother. "Give that back! He's toast!"

"Alexandra Margarita, you calm down right _now_," Theresa demanded as she held the wand out of her daughter's reach. "I'm sure it was an accident. Max, apologize."

To his credit, Max tried his best to look apologetic. But Alex was peeved to note that he seemed to be pleased with himself that he had finally gotten back at her, if accidentally. "Sorry, Alex," he mumbled.

"Keep one eye open when you sleep tonight," Alex warned in response. It took all of her self-control not to attack him when he ran to his room. Determined to take her anger out on someone, Alex whirled around to face her parents. "I can't believe you're letting him get away with this."

"Who said we are? It's going to be a long while before Max is allowed to bring a dog in this house again, I can tell you that," Theresa assured her.

Jerry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we'll discuss his punishment later. And Alex, since Mr. Ed means a lot to you, I'll let you use magic to fix him."

"Thanks, Dad," Alex replied. She could feel herself calm down more the longer Max was out of her sight, and the thought of being able to fix her beloved horse made her feel better. Her temper soon faded enough that she felt she could hold her wand without running to Max's room and doing more than _threatening _him with bodily harm. To prove she was calmer, she let out an exaggerated, deep breath, then turned to her mother. "Okay, I'm better. Can I have my wand back?"

Though skill skeptical, Theresa reluctantly handed over the wand. "Fine. But I'm keeping a close eye on Max for the next few days, in case you're planning anything."

"Why don't you cast the repair spell on the stuffed animal now so I can supervise?" Jerry suggested as he and Theresa went to the kitchen to get dinner started. At her annoyed face, he sarcastically added, "This way you don't, oh I don't know, bring it to life or anything."

"That was _one_ time!" Alex retorted. She put Mr. Ed's remains on the coffee table, then readied her wand and chanted, "This stuffed animal was my childhood friend, now he is what this spell will mend."

She stared at the pile of fur with expectancy for almost a full minute. Nothing happened.

"Dad? It didn't work!" Alex cried as panic crept into her voice. "Why didn't it work?"

Distracted by helping his wife with dinner, Jerry absentmindedly glanced at his daughter. "It's probably the spell, honey. Try 'Murrieta Repairreta.' Your stuffed animal is small enough that a basic fix-it spell should do it."

"Thanks," Alex replied, then aimed her wand again. "Murrieta Repairreta!"

This time, both she and her father were worried when again nothing happened.

She had his full attention then, and a concerned Jerry asked, "That's odd. Have you used magic today?"

Alex hesitated. They hadn't had class that day, so any magic she used would be against the rules. "Um, is that a trick question?"

Jerry sighed. "No explanations necessary. I just need to know if your magic is working."

"Then yes, I have," Alex answered. She wanted to get to the bottom of this too. If there was a problem with her magic, she needed to know.

Confused, Jerry left the kitchen and went over to her. "That's really weird. Test your magic now. I don't know...turn on the TV with your wand." When Alex did so easily, then flicked her wand to turn the TV off, Jerry was downright perplexed. Then his widened. "_Oh_. You're trying to fix _Mr. Ed_. You got him from Santa, didn't you?"

Alex nodded. "Yeah, so?"

His expression completely serious, Jerry replied, "Then Santa's the only one who can fix it. You can try to schedule an appointment with him and take the portal there, but as you can guess he's _really_ busy this time of year."

The response made Alex's jaw drop, and a shocked Theresa whirl around to face them. Alex managed to voice what they were both thinking. "Santa Claus _exists_? Seriously?" She then paused. "You know, after summoning Cupid, you'd think this wouldn't surprise me so much."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, glad people like this - for some reason I was nervous about how people would respond to a WOWP Santa Claus story.

Since I'm always trying to recruit followers, let me throw in the shameless plug now - you can follow me on Twitter under the same username. However, it would probably be of more interest to you to know that you can also follow WOWP creator ToddJGreenwald, and producer Peter Murrieta (mightypeter). Notice how I used Murrieta in the spell last chapter? Couldn't resist. They're both awesome guys who do Q & A's, as well as the occasional live chat.

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**Chapter 2**

"Hi, my name is Alex Russo. I'd like to schedule an appointment with Santa...preferably for right _now_," she added with an upset glance at her stuffed animal's remains, which she respectfully placed on the desk in front of her. She'd gone to the lair to make her call, since her room was still covered with stuffing that Max was _so_ going to clean up.

She'd needed to use her wand to make the call because it was to the wizard world. She didn't know Santa's phone number, so the operator had given her a direct connection to the elf in charge of Human Resources. She hadn't asked.

"What is the nature of your business?" the surprisingly professional elf, who'd identified herself as Carol, asked. Weren't elves supposed to be jolly and have squeaky, funny voices? Never one to shy away from squelching her curiosity, Alex bluntly spoke this thought. Carol let out a sigh of disapproval and snapped, "No, we do _not_ have 'squeaky' voices." Before Alex could open her mouth to ask, Carol added, "And we're not four feet tall either. We are a _normal_ height."

"Oh," Alex replied, somewhat disappointed. While she had of course met an elf before - the tutor her parents hired for her brother - she'd hoped the elves at the North Pole were different, like the ones she saw in those corny Christmas movies. However, while she'd found out that elves were definitely different from Tutor, they weren't the Hollywood versions either. "Do you at least have pointy ears?" Alex had to ask.

Again Carol sighed. "_Yes_, we do have pointy ears. Happy?"

"Very. Anyway, I need Santa to fix the stuffed animal he got for me when I was five-years-old. How soon can that happen?" Alex explained.

Much to her annoyance, Carol laughed. "Are you serious, kid? Have you looked at a calendar lately? It's fifteen days until Christmas. Between that and his other appointments, you'll be lucky to get in by February. Sorry sister, you're just going to have to fix your teddy bear yourself."

"Is this how you treat all your customers? I want to speak to your manager!" Alex demanded. _No one_ gave _her_ the brush off.

"Good luck with that. It's pretty chaotic over hear - things have been breaking down all over the place. I haven't even _seen_ my manager for at least a week," Carol replied. "But look, since I was a little rude I'll help you out. We're more flexible with scheduling if the client has a history of being on the nice list. What did you say your name was?"

Alex hesitated. While she didn't exactly have a copy of her naughty-nice record, she knew that her so-called "bad attitude" and "narcissistic tendencies" (both of which were Justin' favored terms) went back to her childhood. "Um, Harper. Harper Finkle," she lied.

There was a clatter of keyboard keys, then the elf was back on the phone. "You want to tell me your _real_ name now?"

"How do you know that isn't my real name?" Alex challenged.

"Says here on the records that Harper Finkle is a mortal. And the caller ID says that this call is coming from a wand registered to 'Alexandra Russo,' who has been on the naughty list every year since she was six. Am I correct in assuming that I am talking to this Alexandra Russo?"

_Oh man, I am _so_ busted_, Alex thought. "Yes," she mumbled.

An angry, aggravated note to her voice, the elf retorted, "Then we have no further business to discuss. Not only were you on the naughty list from the age of six until you stopped believing at the age of ten, your outright lie proves that you have not changed your demeanor. Don't call back."

And the call was ended.

"An _elf_ just hung up on me," Alex muttered to herself in wonder as she stared at her wand in surprise. Then she shook her head and put down her wand, disappointed that she would never be able to fix Mr. Ed. Since she couldn't see Santa, what was she supposed to do?

Then she thought about the new information she'd received. On the naughty list for four years straight, really? It didn't seem fair. She was just a kid then, and from what she was remembering, she wasn't _too_ much of a brat. There had to be worse out there.

She had to admit she was hurt by this. While she put up an attitude and never listened to anyone, she never considered herself really _bad_. Sure, she bragged about her rebellious ways, and refused to be labeled 'good,' but she always thought that really deep down, she was a good person. Was she really so rotten that she belonged on the naughty list?

"Hey Alex," Justin greeted as he walked into the lair, followed by Harper. He'd been hanging out with some of his nerdy friends, and Harper must have gotten her homework done. "Mom and Dad told us what happened. Did you get in touch with Santa?"

"I knew Santa had to be real. There was no way my parents paid enough attention to figure out _exactly_ what I wanted every year," Harper remarked as she sat down next to Alex at the desk. "Your mom's a little freaked out though. She was asking your dad about it when we walked in, and it looked like she'd been at it for a while."

Alex couldn't help but chuckle as she remembered how completely floored her mother had been at the news. It was one thing to know that magic existed, but finding out about Santa was another shocker in its own right. Knowing there really was a Santa Claus...it would make anyone go "oh, wow," probably because once a kid has reached a certain age, they're specifically taught _not_ to believe in him. This especially applied to her mother, who had grown up as an average, non-believing mortal. Harper would probably be in a state of shock too if...well, if she wasn't Harper.

But Alex had quickly gotten over the revelation, and at the moment was just annoyed and upset at the rudeness of the North Pole's Human Resources department. "They won't give me an appointment," Alex resentfully informed them. "Not now, not ever."

"Oh, Alex, don't be so dramatic," Justin replied. "I'm sure once the holiday passes they'll be able to squeeze you in. Mr. Ed will be fixed eventually, you just need to patient. You know, when you actually _wait_ until you can do something the right way, instead of taking matters into your own hands and causing trouble like you usually do."

Irritated, Alex glared at him. "For your information, I'm _not_ being dramatic, which you would have found out if _you had let me finish_," she snapped. "_I_ won't get an appointment because of the _rude_ elf who wouldn't give me an appointment just because I've...well...been on the naughty list a few times."

Justin smirked, not surprised in the least. "Really, you don't say," he deadpanned.

"Wait, how many times is a 'few'?" Harper asked. Apparently she'd noticed how Alex's voice had dropped at the last part.

A little ashamed of herself, Alex muttered, "Four. From when I was six until I stopped believing at ten."

"Oh yeah, I remember," Harper said. "You stopped getting exactly what you wanted every year when your brothers always did, so you asked your parents, and they told you he didn't exist." She then wrinkled her forehead as she remembered. "But wait, why did you get a present from Santa at _all_ if you were on the naughty list? Wouldn't you get coal? And why did your father tell you there _wasn't_ a Santa Claus if there really is one?"

Alex frowned when she realized that her friend had some very good points. That was when she noticed that her brother seemed to suddenly get _very_ uncomfortable, and was looking everywhere but at her. "Justin? What are you not telling me?" Alex demanded.

"Uh, well...look, don't be mad, because he just wanted to protect you," Justin answered nervously. "But, when Dad realized you weren't going to get a present from Santa anymore, _he_ started to try and guess what you wanted and buy it. You always wanted to put your letter to Santa right in the wizard mail slot, so he could never look at it to know exactly what you wrote down." Sympathetic, he lowered his eyes and said, "I'm sorry, Alex. I found out when I woke up a little too early on Christmas morning and found him putting _your_ gift 'from Santa' under the tree. I had started to not believe by then, so I wondered why he didn't have a gift for me or Max. He told me the truth and asked me to keep it from you so you wouldn't be hurt. He thought it would be easier for you to think that Santa never existed in the first place, rather than the truth, which was that he did exist...but put you on the naughty list."

_Oh...my...gosh!_ Alex thought as she stiffly leaned back on her chair in total bewilderment. Her whole perception of her childhood had just been completely changed. To first find out she'd had a reserved spot on the naughty list, and then that not only had her father known, but kept in from her...Alex knew objectively that it was a sweet thing for her father to do, and it showed how much he really loved her. But she was so overwhelmed at the moment, all she could think about how indignant she was that he would insult her intelligence like that and trick her all those years. If he'd respected her, he would have sat her down and told her the cold, hard truth, rather than decide for himself that she didn't have a right to the information. Even worse, she had always thought that she'd been a tough kid, but clearly his protection of her proved that he had thought she would be too emotionally weak to handle it.

Alexandra Russo didn't need to be protected.

This also begged the question...how did he view her now? That elf had accused her of not changing since she was a kid. So did that mean that her father's belief in her hadn't changed either?

"Alex? Are you okay?"

Startled, Alex jumped at Harper's question. She quickly steadied herself and jumped off the chair. "No, I'm not okay," she answered. "And I'm going to fix that right now."

Then she ran out of the lair to find her father.

* * *

Her arms crossed, Alex stared at her father with skepticism. She'd found him coming down the stairs, and when he spotted her, assured her that Max was busy cleaning her room. However, instead of the relief he'd been expecting, she'd pounced on him. She'd overwhelmed him with everything she'd found out from the elf and Justin.

Of course, he was denying that he didn't believe in her ability to handle herself. He'd insisted that he only did it because she'd been his little girl, and he hadn't had the courage to tell her the truth...that his reasoning had nothing to do with her.

She wasn't buying it. "I'm supposed to think that this had _nothing_ to do with you assuming I couldn't handle this?" she pressed.

"Look, Alex, I'm really sorry. You have to understand that I'm your _dad_," Jerry insisted. "It's my nature to protect my little girl. I know you feel like I've been lying to you..." At her glare, he shrugged. "Okay, I have. But when I realized you weren't getting a present from Santa anymore, _I_ was heartbroken _for_ you. I couldn't even begin imagine how _you _would take it." He sighed. "And whether you believe me or not, I did do it partly because I was afraid telling you would make you cry, and I knew I wouldn't be able to take it. Again, I'm sorry."

After he'd finished his little speech, Alex realized that he'd gotten to her. She had a tendency to not think about others' feelings, especially in a situation that directly involved her, but him actually _saying_ these things...Maybe she should try to understand.

More importantly though, he'd actually _apologized_ to her. That was a first. She couldn't help but take it as a sign that their relationship _had_ changed over the years.

When she didn't say anything, he gave her a hesitant glance. "Are we okay?"

Alex debated for another minute, then sighed. "I guess so."

"Good," he replied. They shared a quick hug. When they broke apart, he headed to the kitchen. "Sorry, promised your mother I'd check on the meatloaf." Once he reached the kitchen, he called, "I know what the elf told you about...the list...but did you get an appointment?"

Sad at the thought of her stuffed animal, Alex shook her head. "_No_, and the elf with an attitude problem told me not to call back. What am I going to do? I can't just..." She cringed. "_Throw Mr. Ed away._ I....I just can't."

"You could fix him the mortal way," Jerry reminded her. At her disbelieving glance, he explained, "Well, maybe not _you_, but Harper's handy with a sewing machine, isn't she?"

Alex shook her head. "She wouldn't be able to do anything. There's a lot of fur missing." The thought of that stupid dog entered her mind again, and she tried not to scream with anger. "I swear, that mutt better run if _I_ catch him being walked down Waverly Place again."

"Aw, honey, I'm sure you'll figure out something. You always do," Jerry assured her. Finished with the meatloaf, he headed for the door. "Hey, I have to go down to the lair to check on some supplies for class this week. Dinner should be ready soon."

"Okay. Hey, can you tell Justin and Harper that it's safe to come up now? They were in the lair last time I saw them," Alex replied. Her father nodded and left.

Even though the talk with her father hadn't been as much of a fight as she thought it would be, tough discussions like that always made her feel like she needed to relax and recuperate. She lied down on the couch and reached for the remote, but after a few minutes of TV watching she wasn't feeling any better.

It didn't surprise her. She didn't have Mr. Ed.

Harper and Justin entered the common area, and Alex saw that her brother held her wand and Mr. Ed in his hands. "Hey," he greeted as he handed her the items. "I'm sorry about your stuffed animal, Alex.. I liked the little guy - the more time you spent playing with him, the less you spent torturing me."

"If you want, I could buy some fur and try to fix him," Harper offered, but doubt in her ability to do so crept in her face. "_A lot_ of fur."

It was a nice gesture, but even if Harper could fix him, Alex knew it wouldn't be the same. All that new fur mixed in...he'd be like mutant Mr. Ed instead of her familiar childhood toy. "Thanks, but I...I think it's a sign that I should move on," she fibbed in an effort to seem strong. However, the sight of Mr. Ed's body made her want to cry, so she buried her face in her knees, which she pulled up on the couch. "Now leave me alone to grieve," she said in a muffled voice.

Unable to do anything else, Harper turned to leave. But Justin seemed to be thinking. Even though Alex's head was down, out of the corner of her eye she could see Harper give Justin a curious glance. "What are you thinking about, Justin?" Harper asked, then her eyes widened. "You know how to fix Mr. Ed, don't you?"

That got Alex to lift her head up. "Do you, Justin?"

"No," Justin answered. When both Alex and Harper let out sighs of disappointment, he quickly explained, "But I might know how to get in touch with Santa. Alex, you remember the spell you learned in..." He trailed off when he realized what he was saying. "Of course you don't. Anyway, you learned the Summoning Spell, when you say a person's name three times, and they appear."

Harper tilted her head in thought. "I don't know how, but that sounds familiar. I feel like I might have seen it on a TV show somewhere..."

While Harper continued to try and remember, Justin shook his head and turned back to Alex. "Right, like I said, you just point your wand and say the person's name. Of course, I don't know if that will work on Santa, he might have a block on that spell. Especially since he's so busy right now."

"It's worth a try though," Alex replied, new hope in her demeanor as she excitedly jumped up and pointed her wand in the direction of the doorway. She concentrated, a classic image of Santa Claus firmly in her mind, and the desire for her stuffed animal back fueled her spell even more. Finally, she chanted, "Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus!"

Startled, the trio stepped back when there was a flurry of red and green lights. They cleared to reveal the big man in red himself...only, he wasn't so big. Apparently, the real Santa Claus was a man with an average build, a head full of thick brown hair, and barely a stubble of hair on his chin, who given his current outfit liked do dress in red pants and a green flannel shirt when not suited up for his flight.

Confused at first, he took in his surroundings while the three teens tried to get over their surprise. His gaze landed on Alex's outstretched wand and nodded in understanding. "Oh, I see you've summoned me here," he said in a deep, kind voice. "I'm sorry, did I miss an appointment? You'll have to forgive me, this is far from our smoothest Christmas."

"Oh, no, I just needed to ask you for something," Alex began, although she had to try hard not to stare at him in total confusion. It seemed that even _Santa_ wasn't anything like the Hollywood version. "See, my name is..."

Unfortunately, her introduction had given him time to realize who she was. "You're Alexandra Russo, aren't you? My elf tells you about your naughty list status, yet you summon me here anyway when you know my answer? Ms. Russo, do you realize how busy I am right now?"

"That was an _hour_ ago, how could you..." Alex replied, then Justin interrupted.

"Um, Alex, the song?" Justin reminded her. "'He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake, he _knows if you've been bad or good_?'"

Frustrated, Alex put her hands on her hips. "Of course," she retorted. "That has to be the _one_ thing Hollywood says about Santa that's actually true."

* * *

A/N: The spell in this chapter is from an actual show. Anyone know which one? Hint: I renamed it the "Summoning Spell" for this fanfic, it actually has another name, and the spell itself works differently, but the chanting three times is the same. Bonus points if you know what the name is! Points for what, I don't know.


	3. Chapter 3

Power214063 got it right! The spell was the Passion Spell from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. It popped in my head and I couldn't resist.

Thanks for the reviews!

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**Chapter 3**

Sure that Santa was about to pop back to the North Pole, Alex did what she did best - stall. "Hey, look, it's Justin Russo! You remember him, right? He's such a goody-goody, he was probably put on the nice list before the year was over."

She didn't really care about Santa's disproval of her…so she was trying to convince herself. All she needed was for him to agree to fix Mr. Ed. Maybe she could persuade him to use magic to make the repair real fast before he went back to the North Pole.

Meanwhile, her strategy had worked. "Oh, yeah, Justin Russo! My father has mentioned you a few times. Good kid," Santa said as he shook a flattered Justin's hand.

"Wow! That is quite a compliment, sir…" Justin replied, already in full butt-kissing mode. Then he paused. "Wait, your father? How long have you been Santa?"

"This is my first one!" Santa replied with enthusiasm. "Before this, I was just Nick. All of a sudden the big guy retires and I'm in charge!"

Nervous about the fate of the holiday, Harper raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…how's that going for you?"

"Oh, Harper Finkle! Another nice list regular!" Santa exclaimed and shook her hand.

Harper feigned modesty, but was as flattered as Justin had been. "O-oh, well, you know, I didn't want to let you down. One year I _almost_ stayed up past bedtime after my mom had said to go to sleep, but I didn't!"

"And you got your sewing machine that year, didn't you?" Santa said, then glanced at Justin. "Hey, you still got that Captain Jim Bob Sherwood Farmhouse Space Command Module my dad gave you? I hear it's worth four hundred dollars now."

The incident still a sore spot, Justin tried his best not to glare, but his tone was sarcastic when he managed to reply, "Yeah, I'm aware of that."

"Well, it was nice meeting you kids, but I really should go. Things are a mess back at the workshop," Santa admitted, worry on his face.

A weak attempt at a comforting smile in place, Harper offered, "Well, you know, it's hard getting everything right the first time…"

Santa shook his head. "No, it's not me. Trust me, my dad's been hounding me so much he wouldn't _let_ me make a mistake."

"I hear you. I'm seventeen, but my dad _still_ won't let me close up shop by myself. The man is a control freak when it comes to work," Justin sympathized.

"So you get it," Santa replied, then sighed. "And that would be my main concern right now if…"

The front door opened. Jerry and Theresa walked in and headed for the kitchen. Neither noticed the extra person while they finished preparing for dinner. "Hey guys, go wash up, dinner is…" Theresa began. She turned to her children and Harper as she spoke, which caused her to finally notice their guest.

Her wand still in her hand, Alex had purposely kept quiet. Not only was she trying to come up with a plan, she was hoping that the longer Santa was distracted, he would forget his anger at her. Then he might be in a better mood to agree to her request. She didn't think this often, but her parents being the room helped the situation. By the time they explained what was going on, his attention would be totally off her.

Of course, she forgot that explaining to her shocked parents what Santa Claus was _doing_ there would direct attention right back to her. So much for her parents' presence working in her favor.

"Hi…" Theresa greeted warily. The man's unexplained presence was a clear tip her off that he may be from the wizard world. On instinct, Theresa's gaze traveled over to where her daughter was standing. "Alex, what's going on here?"

In a weak effort at going on the offensive, Alex retorted, "Why do you always assume it's me? Justin's here too!"

"He's not the one with his wand still in his hand!" Jerry pointed out.

Alex supposed she probably should have put her wand down once she realized she was holding it. Oh well, live and learn. "Point taken," she muttered.

"Mr. and Mrs. Russo? Hi, I'm sorry to interrupt dinner, but your daughter summoned me here," Santa said as he went to shake both their hands. "My name's Nick, but I'm more commonly known as Santa Claus."

While Theresa's jaw dropped in total shock, Jerry shook his head. "Wait, this doesn't make sense," Jerry said. "I've met Santa before. You're not him."

"You've _what_?" Theresa exclaimed, clearly surprised that she didn't already know this about her husband.

Undeterred by the outburst, Santa explained, "You met my father, Nick Sr. This is my first year as Santa."

"Congratulations, you must be very excited," Jerry said as if Nick had just told him about a typical job promotion. "How are things going…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Theresa interrupted. She'd walked into the living room between the kids and the adults, her hands on her hips. "_Santa Claus_ is standing in my kitchen. I think I have a right to an explanation."

"Alex summoned him here to fix her stuffed animal," Justin supplied.

While she hadn't expected anything else from her brother, Alex still sent him an annoyed glare. "Gee, thanks for the back up," she snapped. When her mother glanced her way, Alex sighed. "He's right. I wanted Santa to fix Mr. Ed. I didn't know what else to do!"

"Alex! It's two weeks before Christmas, don't you think Santa's a little busy right now?" Theresa retorted. She then hesitated at her words. "I live with wizards, but I still can't believe I just said that."

Alex tried not to roll her eyes. That was all anyone had been telling her since this whole mess started "Trust me, I _know_ he's busy. But Justin told me to use the spell!"

When all three adults turned to him in surprise, Justin began to panic. "You didn't see her! She was genuinely upset about Mr. Ed. I wanted to make her feel better."

"Yeah, because sad Alex is just…weird. It doesn't happen very often," Harper added.

Embarrassed, Alex folded her arms and looked down. "I wasn't _that_ upset…" But Justin and Harper's testimonies still had her parents, and even Santa, looking a little more sympathetic to her problem. Normally she hated sympathy, but in this case she realized it would be the key to getting her stuffed animal repaired. "Okay, yeah, I'm really attached to him. I've had him since I was little! Who wouldn't be?"

When Santa didn't immediately say anything, Jerry sighed. "Look, Santa, I understand what you're coming from, I really do. Alex is no role model and she has no right to expect you to help her with anything. But… she loves Mr. Ed. You're _Santa Claus_, surely you must have it in your heart to do this one favor that would mean so much to her."

_Way to lay it on thick, Dad!_ Alex internally cheered. She tried to suppress a proud smile. Good old Dad, he would always stand up for her.

There was a tenseness in the air when Santa still didn't say anything. Finally, he spoke, but his words weren't what anyone had been expecting. "Okay, I've got an idea," Santa said. "Like I was saying before, we've been having problems. For some reason, toys have been disappearing at the workshop. No one knows why, but one night we have a certain amount of toys, but the next morning we suddenly have hundreds left. Could be a natural phenomenon, or someone is trying to trip us up, we don't know. The point is, we're incredibly behind, and we don't know if we're going to have enough toys when Christmas comes around."

"Have you tried to call for help?" Jerry suggested. "If this _is _wizard magic at work, you could ask the Council to check it out."

Santa waved a dismissive hand. "Too much paperwork. We wouldn't even hear back until it's too late. Right now we're just trying to work around it and try to make as many toys as we can." He then glanced at Alex. "That's where you come in."

"So…what? You want me to do community service, then you'll fix Mr. Ed?" Alex replied. When he nodded, she groaned. She _hated_ the idea of spending any amount of time being bored to tears by menial labor.

Meanwhile, Harper and Justin had burst into laughter. "You…you want _Alex_ to be an _elf_?" Harper exclaimed.

"Please tell me she has to wear one of those red and green outfits!" Justin added, doubled over the back of the couch, his arm across his stomach.

Even her parents were having a hard time keeping straight faces. "Trust me, Santa, you're better off saving yourself the trouble and fixing the toy now," Jerry suggested. "My daughter doesn't do hard work. She's said so herself."

When Santa gave her a bewildered glance, Alex only shrugged. "Hey, they're right."

"Look, everyone, I deal with hundreds of elves every day, and not all them are especially jolly," Santa informed them while the group tried to calm themselves down. "If Alex wants her stuffed animal fixed, she's going to have to redeem herself. And you can do that by volunteering at the workshop. That's my only offer."

Alex hesitated. She really did _not_ want to do this, but…she needed Mr. Ed back. And, while she would never admit to _anyone_, she was slightly worried about Santa's toy problems. It would make her feel better if she did what she could to prevent a disaster of a Christmas that year.

But, more importantly, maybe it would help change Santa's opinion of her, and her current naughty list status, if she put in some good, solid hours at the workshop to prove she wasn't rotten to the core.

So, much to her family and Harper's surprise, she stuck out her hand for him to shake, determination in her expression. "I'll do it. When do I start?"

"Tomorrow morning," Santa replied as he shook her hand, a proud smile on his face. "I'll send an elf to transport you up to the workshop. Thank you, Alex. We need all the help we can get right now."

At that, Theresa glanced at him, thoughtful. "Hey, Santa, can anyone volunteer?"

"Yeah! You all should come up with me!" Alex exclaimed with a sly look at Justin, an image in her head of the picture she would take with him dressed up in his elf wear. Which she would then plaster all over the Internet.

Excited, Harper agreed, "Yeah! I want to help!"

Then all three women gave pointed glares at Jerry and Justin. Alex recognized her mother's glare from when she tried to convince Jerry to attend PTA meetings. Like those other times, it worked, and Jerry reluctantly nodded. "Sure, I'll help. Maybe Justin and I can figure out a magical way to stop the toys from disappearing."

"Yeah, I can practice my magic! I don't get to do that often since I ended training," Justin remarked. "I'm in!"

Overjoyed, Santa looked at them all with gratitude in his eyes. "Thank you, you're all wonderful! The elves will really appreciate this." He then checked his watch. "Uh oh, I was supposed to be at the reindeer barn ten minutes ago. Blitzen's been having stomach problems, I have _got_ to tell the elves to stop feeding him candy canes…" With a sigh, he shook his head. "Thank you all again, I will see you tomorrow morning."

And then he disappeared in the same red and green lights that brought him here.

When her parents remembered dinner and went to set the table, Alex said, "I'll go tell Max what's going on and tell him dinner's ready," she offered.

"That's awfully…considerate of you?" Jerry replied, baffled by her behavior.

"Considerate nothing," Alex assured him. "He's cleaning my room, remember? I have to go make sure he hasn't found my journal again." While her father nodded in understanding, she ran up the stairs to her room.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sorry about the delay! I really thought I was going to get a chance to work on this during the month. Between finishing classes, graduating college, looking for a job, and the holidays, I've just been really busy. Obviously, this won't be finished in time for Christmas. But of course I will still finish it.

This chapter right here is more of a transition, so it's a little shorter than I would like. I will have more time to work on this in January after everything has calmed down.

Thank you for the reviews so far! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

* * *

**Chapter 4**

The next morning, Alex shocked her whole family, and Harper, when she bounded down the stairs at 9:00 sharp, fully dressed and ready for the day. "Good morning, everyone!" she greeted cheerily. She breezed past her brothers and Harper, who were eating breakfast at the table, and went to get her own food from the kitchen. Her unexpected attitude had caused both Harper and Max to freeze with their full cereal spoons halfway to their mouths. Justin had actually gone so far as to drop his, which landed with a _splat_ on the floor.

Her parents were equally overwhelmed, and stared at her while she went to grab a bowl from the cabinet. "Alex, honey?" her mother asked worriedly, and put a hand on Alex's forehead.

"I'm fine, Mom," Alex laughed while she brushed away her mother's hand. "I just wanted to start the day right before the hard work starts."

Meanwhile, her father had a calculating look on his face as he tried to figure out her plan. "Excuse us for being a little skeptical, Alex. I mean, I wasn't even sure if you knew the sun rose before noon."

"Of course I knew it rose before noon. It rises..." Alex trailed off when she realized she actually _didn't_ know when the sun came up. "...way earlier than that," she finished lamely, then brushed it off. "Look, what can I say, finding out I was on Santa's naughty list was a bad shock that really got to me."

"You were _shocked _to find this out?" Theresa blurted, then looked down in embarrassment due to ruining her daughter's emotional confession. "Sorry, go on," she muttered.

Slightly insulted, which wasn't helped by her brother's and Harper's ill-concealed laughter, Alex chose to ignore that and continued. "So, rather than just blow this off...like I do everything else," she admitted, "I'm really going to put real effort in during my time there. Santa needs help."

Her confession had won her formerly doubting father over. "I'm proud of you, Alex," Jerry said as he gave her a quick hug.

"Don't believe her just yet, Dad," Justin warned. He was giving her a warning look from his seat at the table. "She has some kind of plan up her sleeve. I don't know what it is, but I _know_ she has one."

Alex sadly shook her head. "Oh Justin, can't you believe that for once I can be selfless and really pitch in when someone else is in trouble?" She held her serious face for about a second, which dissolved into laughter when her family did. "Okay, I don't blame you, but this time I mean it, I promise."

"That's good to hear. You'll have a better time today if you get in the spirit."

All laughter abruptly ceased at the remark, which hadn't come from the Russo's or Harper. The group slowly turned around to find an elf in their living room. This one looked like a young man around Justin's age, his pointed ears half-hidden by dark, messy hair. His deep, green eyes went with the green, button down shirt he wore over brown slacks.

Alex was mesmerized. While he wasn't that obvious brand of handsome, she still found him totally attractive in a rugged sort of way.

Her trance was broken when he moved towards them and glanced down at the clipboard Alex just noticed he had in his hand. "Okay, you're the Russo family, right? Santa told me to pick you up. My name is Ethan, by the way," he introduced and held out his hand for the nearest person to shake.

That happened to be Alex. "Yeah, t-that's us," she managed, sure her hand was shaking when she took his. "I'm Alex."

"Right, you're the one doing time so Santa will fix your stuffed animal," Ethan replied, which effectively ruined any moment they may have had. This became even more so when he glanced down at his clipboard again. "The rest of you are just volunteering."

Jerry nodded. "Yes, and my son Justin and I will be trying to fix whatever problem you have at the factory," he supplied.

After he studied the notes some more, Ethan looked up and replied, "Right. Well, are you all ready to go now?"

"Yeah!" Max exclaimed and jumped up from the table, his cereal forgotten. "Do we get to pick what we make? I want to build _the best toy race car, ever_!" he exclaimed, a mad-scientist-like expression on his face as he rubbed his hands together..

Harper stared at him for a second, then shook her head. "And I want to work with the dress up clothes! Do they need fashion designers?" she asked hopefully.

Just then, Alex really _noticed_ what her best friend was wearing. Of course, Harper had taken the Santa's elf concept to the extreme. She was dressed in what was thought to be typical elf fashion - a green, cloth outfit of a long-sleeved top and pants, slippers on her feet with jingle bells on the toes and attached to the red felt on the ankles, and a red-and-green pointed hat, also with a jingle bell.

No doubt Harper had done this as an effort to blend in. But Alex guessed by Ethan's normal outfit, once again Harper would stick out like a sore thumb...even at Santa's workshop.

Ethan had obviously took note of this as well, and gave her a weak smile. "Um, well...you could ask the elf in charge of that department, she..._might_ take you on," he replied, though it was clear he thought there was no chance of that happening.

"Really? Thanks!" Harper exclaimed, either oblivious to or choosing to ignore his dubious tone.

As he realized that the elf had just appeared, and they needed to get to the North Pole somehow, Justin asked, "So, how are we getting there, exactly?"

Her eyes wide, Theresa excitedly asked, "Do we get to ride in the sleigh?"

But her hopes were quickly dashed when Ethan shook his head. "Nope, sorry, that's only for Santa, especially around this time of year. The elves are getting it ready for the big night now." He then snapped his fingers, and a medium-sized red sack appeared. "Here, you have to put these on," he said while he took out some Santa hats.

"Great," Alex muttered as she reluctantly put one on her head. The bright shade of red totally clashed with her outfit, which contained deeper, tasteful, tones of red and green. Even though she had dressed as such to show her Christmas spirit, the hat was a little much. "Do we _have_ to wear these?"

His hat already on, Justin replied smugly, "Oh, Alex, I'm sure they're special items charmed to enable magical transportation, right Ethan?"

Ethan grinned. "No, they're just for fun. Really, all I have to do is this."

He then took out a large green whistle and blew into it. But while everyone covered their ears in anticipation, no sound came out. Instead, Alex found herself floating in a swirling red and green vortex of sparkling lights.

* * *

Delivery Elf Alex munched on a sugar cookie as she wandered through one of the workshops an hour later, entertained by the unusual sights and sounds.

They'd arrived in the main house, which was actually a mansion and the base of operations for the whole complex. That was where the naughty-nice list was made, where Santa, his wife, and his parents lived and worked, and where meals were served. While the Claus family mostly stayed in the workshops with the elves, they did spend several hours a day in their own offices.

Around the mansion were brightly colored, extremely large Victorian-style houses that each catered to a specific type of toy. There was one for dolls, another for stuffed animals, and another for vehicles like bicycles and scooters. Three other huge structures provided room for wrapping presents, storage, and the barn for the reindeer.

Her family had gone to their respective sections. Justin and her dad were in the storage house, attempting to fix the disappearing gifts problem. Her mother, and a disappointed Harper who had been quickly rejected by the head dress up clothes elf, were helping with doll assembly. Max was in his glory in the vehicle building, learning how to fix bikes and toy cars (however, from what she heard, the elves were having a hard time keeping him from crashing everything he made).

After dismissing every kind of toy for one reason or another, Alex had been put on delivery duty. As it turned out, while many of the tools used by the elves were top of the line, Santa's workshop hadn't been put _online_ quite yet. Toy production reports and other material still had to be transported by messenger. And when there weren't any documents to transfer, Alex was given baskets of cookies to bring around to the elves for them to snack on while they worked.

A basket of treats on her arm, Alex decided to head over to the reindeer barn. She hadn't been in there yet, and she really wanted to check it out. Besides, it was the building closest to where she was standing in the courtyard. As predicted, it was _freezing_ at the North Pole. Of course, New York City was freezing this time of year too, but its low temperatures were nothing compared to the below-zero temperatures at the workshop complex.

She reached a side door of the barn and pushed it open. The decor was stereotypical barn, save for all the wood beams and stalls painted a mellow shade of green. However, the creatures milling about were majestic, furry brown reindeer with antlers that added at least another foot or two to their height.

"Whoa..." Alex breathed, stunned by just how tall and muscular they all were. Then again, one probably had to be in pretty good shape to fly around the world in one night while carrying enough presents for thousands of children.

The nearest reindeer to her was Dasher, according to his collar, who was currently trying to sneak a cookie out of her basket. "Hey! That's not for you!" she chided, then winced when he gave a loud, intimidating snort. Startled, she glanced around, and reluctantly gave the reindeer a cookie. "Okay, here, but don't tell anyone where you got it from."

"He won't have to. You're not particularly inconspicuous."

Alex whirled around to find a female elf smiling at her, pointed ears half-hidden by a messy mane of rich brown hair. "Yeah...well...he started it by trying to take a cookie out of my basket," Alex grumbled, then went over to the elf and handed her a cookie. "You want? I'm Alex, the new delivery elf. I'm just a temp, of course."

"Sure, thanks," the elf replied as she took the cookie and bit into it. "I'm Chelsea, nice to meet you. Excuse me for asking, but what are you? You're clearly not an elf."

At the elf's bluntness, Alex grinned. Maybe they could be friends. "I'm a wizard. I'm doing some time so Santa will fix the stuffed animal I got when I was little."

"Oh, one of those," Chelsea said with an understanding nod. "We get a few wizards like you every year, who want to make up for landing themselves on the naughty list when they were a kid. I'm guessing that's your situation? Santa doesn't usually mind fixing toys for good kids who have grown up."

"Guilty. But it's not so bad. This place is kind of cool," Alex admitted. She then looked around and noticed there was no other employees around. "You have to take care of all these reindeer by yourself? That's not fair."

Chelsea shrugged. "We Caretaker Elves come in shifts. I'm only here for a few hours or so until someone else takes over. And they're only eight of them. Imagine if they weren't immortal, magical reindeer and had offspring every year?" Chelsea then leaned in and playfully whispered, "Besides, the workload is much lighter in here. Making toys is _so_ much harder."

The remark made Alex grin. Oh yes, they could definitely be friends. "I hear you," she assured her. She then happened to look down at her basket...which was almost empty. "Hey! What happened to..." She turned around, then gasped when she saw crumbs falling from Dasher's mouth. He must have followed her without her notice. "Dasher! Bad reindeer!" she scolded.

But Chelsea only laughed. "Don't worry about it. Like I said, these guys are immortal. Nothing will hurt them."

"Who said anything about them? Now I have to go all the way back to the mansion and fill my basket," Alex whined. After Chelsea laughed, Alex began heading back toward the door. "It was nice meeting you, Chelsea! I'll definitely be back here..." She then trailed off when she remembered that she hadn't seen Ethan for a while, and she would need somewhere to go once she refilled her basket. He'd also mentioned that he liked to go out to the reindeer barn frequently. "Hey, um, wouldn't happen to know where Ethan would be, would you?"

Suddenly, Chelsea's face darkened, and she snapped, "Hands off, he's mine."

"Whoa, sorry, _so_ didn't know..." Alex quickly replied, thrown off by Chelsea's scary and abrupt change in demeanor.

Just as quickly, the elf had reverted back to her friendly tone. "Just messin' with ya," Chelsea teased, amused by Alex's startled look. "He's all yours. He usually does hang out here, but I heard he's spending all day in storage helping two wizards try to fix the storage problem."

Alex laughed at Chelsea's prank.. "Nice one," she replied. "And yeah, the two wizards are my dad and brother. Guess that's where I'm headed once I get a refill."

* * *

A/N: Also sorry about the OC overload. Don't worry, they won't be featured too much - I mean, it's Santa's workshop, you gotta have elves right?


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Again, sorry for the delay everyone. Despite graduating college about three weeks ago, I've managed to keep myself pretty busy. As this is a Christmas story, I'll at least try my hardest to finish it before February.

Thanks for the reviews so far!

Edit: I knew I would do it one of these days, and I finally did - I uploaded a chapter with my notes still at the top of the section. Sorry about that if you saw it, at least now you have a better understanding of my creative process.

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Her brother and father's frustrated voices greeted her as she finally entered the storage building. While Alex had intended to quickly pick up some cookies and be on her way, she ended up getting lost in the hallways of the main mansion. And then she took a few wrong turns on her way to the warehouse. Navigation clearly hadn't been a priority when building the village. She didn't even want to think about finding her way around the village's "suburbs" - the workshop buildings were surrounded by a whole town full of houses for the elves.

So by the time she made it to the warehouse with a basketful of cookies, Alex wasn't exactly feeling jolly. Instead of offering a cookie to the nearby elf looking at her basket with longing, she ignored him and stuffed yet another cookie in her mouth while she approached the far corner where her family members were working.

An unexpected person in the room made her temporarily forget her anger. "_Mother Nature_?" Alex asked in surprise. She hadn't seen the legendary figure since that one time Justin started messing with the weather to help a local weather man keep his job. "What did my brother do now?" Alex

couldn't help but ask. As far as she knew, she hadn't cast any weather spells lately.

"I didn't do anything!" Justin defensively retorted. His wand was in his hand and his Santa hat was still on - Alex had to smirk at that, as she'd ripped hers off the minute Ethan wasn't looking. "We summoned Mother Nature here because we thought she might be able to fix...that."

Alex turned to where he was pointing and gasped. It looked like a black hole...but a small one, that only took up a small portion of the floor. "Whoa...how did that get there?" she blurted.

"That's what your brother and I have been trying to figure out for the past two hours," Jerry informed her. "We know it's a Contained Black Hole, a spell that creates a black hole, which stays a certain size. Usually it's a spell purposely cast by a wizard, but before we jump to that awful conclusion, we're testing out other options. Sometimes it can occur naturally, so we thought Mother Nature would be the one able to tell us if it is."

But Mother Nature was sadly shaking her head. "I'm sorry, but that ain't natural. If Contained Black Holes _do_ appear, they're in forests or deserts," she informed them. "_Not_ storage sheds. Wish I could help more, I really do."

Quietly standing off to the side Ethan nodded. "Thank you for coming, Mother Nature. Santa will appreciate it."

"No problem, hope everything works out for you. Just remind him he still owes me for that one year I made it snow on Christmas...in California," Mother Nature told the elf, then did her typical arm movements and disappeared.

Frustrated, Justin groaned. "So what do we do now, Dad? We were trying all kinds of nature spells before Mother Nature got here. What other spells can we try next?"

Jerry became lost in thought for a second, then glanced at his children. "There is one spell, but you two will have to cast it together. If there isn't a spell lock on it - which means that it was _definitely_ cast by another wizard - the spell should work."

"Well, what is it?" Alex asked as she pulled her wand out of her boot.

"Okay," Jerry began, "You two have to point your wands at the center of the black hole, and say this:

_We summon all our magic to keep our vow,_  
_That we will destroy this black hole here and now,_  
_Should it not be locked, it will be devoured,_  
_By the force of our power"_

When Alex and Justin raised an eyebrow at the unusually serious words, he explained, "It's an old, powerful spell used to destroy anything not created by wizard magic. Try it. Although, I have to warn you that it's a hard spell. You might not be able make it as powerful as full wizards can."

Slightly nervous, Alex and Justin shared worried glances as they readied their wands. Rather than her usual haphazard way of casting spells, she really focused this time, the end result of the black hole destroyed displayed in her mind. Who knew how the harmful spell would work if she didn't concentrate? Of course, Justin cast spells this way all the time, so she had no doubt in her mind that together they would be able to make the spell effective.

Once mentally prepared, the two chanted together in strong, clear voices:

_"We summon all our magic to keep our vow,_  
_That we will destroy this black hole here and now,_  
_Should it not be locked, it will be devoured,_  
_By the force of our power"_

Though she had been confident in their ability to cast the spell, Alex still gasped when blasts of powerful, deep purple magic flowed out of their wands and combined to form a super stream that headed straight for the black hole. It surrounded the darkness first, then began to attack by throwing itself at the enemy.

"Whoa," both Alex and Justin gasped in unison. Curious, Alex glanced at her father...and was surprised to see that he was taken aback as well. Jerry stood there with his eyes wide and his mouth open in such shock that Alex had to wonder exactly what he had been expecting. Had he been thinking that they wouldn't be able to perform the spell at all?

While at first it appeared that their magic would blast the hole into oblivion, they were given another surprise when it began to fade...and the hole wasn't even any smaller. Disappointed, they all stared at the hole as the formerly strong magic disappeared.

Upset, Justin stared down at his wand. "I thought for sure that would work...it looked so powerful," he said quietly. it was clear by the hurt in his voice that he was doubting his abilities as a wizard.

Jerry sensed this and shook his head. "No, it's not your fault...or yours either Alex, I saw how hard you were trying," Jerry assured them. "Trust me, you guys did the spell perfectly. I'm actually...very impressed. Most wizards-in-training wouldn't have been able to do that."

The consolation had its effect, as Alex saw that a smug smile had replaced Justin's disheartened frown. "So...what does this mean?" she asked.

A serious look on his face, Jerry crossed his arms and replied, "It means that there's nothing else we can do now, but try to figure out who would want to ruin Christmas."

"Anyone seen the Grinch lately?" Alex half-heartedly joked. But the annoyed glance on everyone's faces told her it just wasn't the right time. "Too soon? Okay then." With that, she left the warehouse and went back to work.

* * *

While Alex got to explore the workshop complex, Harper was stuck in the doll department, surrounded by tiny dresses and equally tiny plastic body parts. True, she still loved the idea of being at the North Pole, but that excitement was getting harder and harder to revive the longer she sat at her table.

Being rejected, and laughed at, by the head dress up elf put her in a bad mood that she just wasn't ready to recover from yet. Really, weren't elves supposed to be happy, jolly souls? _Wait...that was Frosty the Snowman_, Harper remembered as she began diapering and dressing another baby doll. At any rate, she was pretty sure that elves _weren't_ supposed to be outright mean.

But bad mood aside, she supposed her situation wasn't _too_ awful. Other than the snooty elves of the clothing department, most she started a conversation with were friendly, and actually complimented her on her outfit. She found herself having some fun talking to the elves around her, who were as fascinated by her life as she was of theirs.

"Too plain..." she muttered to herself while she stared at the dress she had just put on the baby doll in front of her. True, it was simple and sophisticated, but not something that a kid getting it for Christmas would like.

She was pleasantly surprised when an elf next to her nodded. "Yeah, tell me about it," she agreed. Harper vaguely recalled that the adult elf's name was Rain. "Those designer elves think they know better because they're in charge of all the clothes that get made here. They could learn a thing or two from listening to us 'regular' elves." Rain paused, then gestured to Harper's costume. "I mean, seriously, that outfit is adorable."

"Thanks!" Harper exclaimed, then both were distracted as another load of baby dolls were placed on their table.

While she began dressing the baby doll that came her way, she glanced at Theresa, who was sitting across from her and working on her own doll. Honestly, Harper had been disappointed to learn she wouldn't be spending the day with her best friend, or at least one of the other Russo siblings.

However, the more she thought about it, the more she saw this as an opportunity to get to know Mrs. Russo better. Things had changed between Harper and Alex's parents since she moved in - she wasn't just their daughter's best friend anymore. She was quickly becoming a member of the family, and it wasn't just her own wishful thinking. On numerous occasions she'd heard Mr. and Mrs. Russo wish Harper was their daughter. Actually, they'd recently asked her to call them Jerry and Theresa...but she just wasn't ready for that yet.

That Harper was actually _wanted_ in this new family made her the happiest she'd been her whole life. She'd always felt so disconnected from her biological family, so different and disregarded. No one paid her any attention, least of all her mother. While she had shared a bond with her grandmother, her parents never understood her creativity and inexplicable self-confidence.

A new chapter of her life had started when she moved in with the Russos, and she would be forever grateful that they were in her life...magic and all.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Theresa leaned forward, half-dressed baby doll in hand. "Hey, Harper, can you button this for me?"

Harper chuckled. "Sure, Mrs. Russo." This was not the first time Theresa had asked the question.

Once the button was closed, Theresa sat back down in her seat. "Thanks. I'll tell you, I thought coming to the North Pole would make me feel like a kid again. Instead, it's made me realize that my eyesight is _not_ what it used to be."

"These buttons _are_ pretty small," Harper assured her, but then frowned in agreement. "I know what you mean, though. It's definitely not as much fun as the one in those Santa Clause movies."

An elf sitting next to Theresa shook his head as he laughed. "Every human who's come up here says the same thing," he remarked. "I watch some of their big-budget Christmas movies and laugh. Where do you people _get_ these ideas?"

"Shawn, stop giving them a hard time," Rain argued as she leaned in to the conversation. "The fact is, _we_ keep the _real_ North Pole a secret, so it's not their fault they don't know any better. We should be grateful that Hollywood keeps making all those Christmas movies. They're why kids keep believing in Santa. And where would we be if they didn't?"

Put in his place, Shawn left them alone and went back to work. Theresa gave Rain a grateful smile. "Thank you, that was great!"

"Eh, don't think too much of it, I've used that argument many times," Rain told them. She then looked at one of the dolls and sighed. "You know, Harper, what you said about the dresses really got me thinking. I just wish that someone would design better doll clothes. Maybe if Santa liked them, and he knew the rest of us liked them, those designer elves would _have_ to listen."

Predictably, Harper was struck with the idea that she _had_ to be the one to make those outfits.

Theresa noticed Harper's thoughtful face. "One suggestion for those clothes you're going to make," she said. "Use larger buttons."

"Already in the plan," Harper assured her.

* * *

"What..._is_ that?" Alex asked. She was trying with all her brain power to figure out her younger brother's latest invention...but she doubted that anyone could understand how Max's mind worked, other than Max himself. And even then...

Proudly, Max held up the object. "It's a triunicycle!" he declared. "See, it's a unicycle, but I put training wheels on it and attached a handle bar to the seat. That way, people can learn how to ride a unicycle without falling so many times."

Alex could only stare with her mouth open for a second, then finally shook her head. "Why don't people just ride a tricycle then? It's practically the same thing."

"No, see..." Max trailed off as he stared at the unicycle, and realized she was right. "Aw, that's bunk. Back to the drawing board, I guess." He then began to look around. "Now where did I put that board?"

When Max was out of earshot, she was approached by another elf, this one wearing a red plaid shirt and a tool belt over his jeans. "Miss, are you here with him?"

"That depends. What did he do?" Alex asked. She had no doubt that her brother had been getting himself into all kinds of trouble.

"My name is Tim, I'm the head elf of this department," Tim introduced. "Look, I've been working here a long time, and I've learned to accept that not every elf is good with his hands. But that boy - " Tim paused and pointed at Max...

...who had just knocked over an entire table full of bicycle parts. Max looked around to see if anyone had seen, didn't see Tim and Alex staring at him, and whistled as he strolled away from the mess.

Tim let out an exasperated sigh. " - _that_ boy...just get him out of here, please."

_Oh, Max_, Alex thought. Since she knew it would take more of her time to find Max another place in the workshop, she put on a sympathetic face and said, "Look, Tim, is it? As Max's sister, I understand where you're coming from, _trust me_, but can't you just give him another chance? Maybe stop letting him make stuff like..._that_..." Alex said as she pointed at the "triunicycle." "...and try to teach him how to fix things?"

Reluctance in his eyes, Tim finally nodded after some hesitation. "We'll give it another shot. But if he breaks too many more toys, he's out of here!"

"Totally understandable," Alex replied, and Tim walked off. When she heard a distant crash, she concluded that Max was the cause of it and ran out of the workshop before Tim could come back.

She ended up in the main courtyard once again, and tried to decide where to go next. Her basket was still full of cookies, so she didn't need to go back to the kitchen, and she was running out of buildings she hadn't yet visited.

Her problem was solved when Ethan ran up to her from the mansion, a folder in his hands. "Hey, Alex, do me a favor and take this to the stuffed animal center down there."

"Sure," Alex said as she took the folder from him. "What is it?

Ethan shrugged. "Nothing important, just the work schedule for next week."

"Oh," she replied, then noticed that the center he mentioned was pretty far away. "Have you guys ever heard of a little thing called _email_?"

Her quip made him laugh, but he then seriously explained, "We've been doing it this way for hundreds of years, it would be hard for us to adapt to a new system. And it would be complicated magic to install such a system, since mortal technology like that doesn't reach up here."

"Well then, that...stinks," Alex lamely replied, not sure what to say to that. "So, uh, you want to walk over there with me?"

Once again, Ethan laughed. "Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of me giving the folder to you?"

"Yeah, I thought of that, but I still wouldn't mind company," Alex answered. She was fully aware that she was almost flirting.

But Ethan didn't seem to notice, and instead yawned as he scratched his head. "You know, I could use a break. Things have been crazy here. And those cookies look good."

"Have one," Alex said. She handed him a cookie, and they began to walk to the center.

After Ethan took a minute to finish his cookie, he asked, "So, uh, how do you like the North Pole?"

"It's pretty cool," she admitted. "I've liked everyone I've met so far. Which is really pretty rare for me."

"That's good to hear. We try to be hospitable to the wizards who visit..." Ethan trailed off when he spotted someone in the distance running towards them. "Hey, isn't that your brother?"

Alex turned around to see Max come up to them. "Max? Did you break something else _already_?"

"I swear it wasn't me!" Max exclaimed. "Tim was just showing me how to fix a bicycle wheel, and this huge black hole just appeared!" He then paused and stared off into the distance, as if imagining it. "Actually, it was pretty cool..."

Annoyed, Alex snapped her fingers in his face to bring him back. "Max!"

Max shook his head. "Right. Anyway, the elves need your help, come on!"

Before she knew what was happening, Ethan took off toward the vehicle center, with Max right behind him. "Wait up you two, I don't run!" she called as she did her best to keep up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Alex, Ethan and Max arrived at the transportation center to find a crowd of elves coming towards her. Acting on instinct, Alex pushed the boys to the side and screamed, "_Stampede!"_

_Mr. Laritate would be proud_, Alex sarcastically thought at her use of the cowboy term, while she and the boys tumbled to the snow-covered ground.

The trio cowered against the side of the building as the terrified elves rushed out into the courtyard. While they eventually stood upright when they were sure the coast was clear, Alex couldn't help but notice how Ethan had thrown himself over her in protection. Ethan noticed this too, then became embarrassed and self-consciously scratched behind his ear. "S-sorry, Alex," he sputtered. "Reflex."

"It's okay. I bet you give all girls the gentleman act, don't you? " Alex shamelessly teased.

Predictably, Ethan became indignant. "It's not an act!"

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is..." Alex trailed off as she and the other two entered the workshop. Their joking attitude was quickly abandoned and replaced with horrified shock. "Oh my gosh."

A swirling black vortex about five feet wide sat in the back end of the space, which in itself was about as big as the first floor of an medium-sized house, like all individual centers were. It was growing, slowly, and sucking in everything nearby. Alex thought all the elves had rushed to safety, but apparently some had stayed behind to try and get as many toys and equipment out of the center as possible.

Tim ran over to the group and pointed at the blackness. "You have to stop that! It's already wiped out a whole day's work!"

Still in shock, Alex blurted, "I don't get it! I thought it was a black hole, why is it growing?"

"Because they grow before they reach their full size."

Alex whirled around to see Justin and her father standing behind her. The response had been her brother's, who rushed to her and Max. "Come on you two, I know a spell that will stop it, but I need your help," Justin told them, then led the way to the forming black hole.

"For what?" Alex asked as they reached the edge of the vortex, and held on to a table to keep it from taking them in. "We can't destroy it, remember? It has a spell lock."

Justin shook his head. "I didn't say we could destroy it. I said we can stop it."

"What's the difference?" Max asked.

"The difference is that we can stop it from taking over the whole workshop," Justin answered. "The spell is _Permoral Stasis_." At Max's blank stare, Justin slowly repeated, _"Perm__-or-al Sta-sis_. Say it to yourself a few times and go to the far side of the hole." He then nodded to a position on the right, and he took one on the left so that they formed a circle around the circle.

In a loud, clear voice, Justin readied his wand. The siblings took his cue and did the same. "Okay, on three," he called. "One, two, three!"

_"Permoral Stasis!"_

Blue sparks flew out of all three wands, and encircled the hole's perimeter until they formed one stream. The blackness tried to fight back by ramming itself against the barrier, but after five tries or so gave up and stayed still. In response to the spell's completion, the blue light faded.

The remaining elves, and Jerry, clapped as they joined the siblings around the hole. "That was great, all of you!" Jerry enthused. "You kids are really improving as wizards. I'm so proud!"

"Thank goodness," Ethan said with a relieved sigh, then began to head for the door. "I'm going to go tell the crowd out there that everything's okay. Be right back."

He almost ran into Santa on his way out. "Sorry I'm late! What happened? Was anyone hurt?" Santa shouted from the front of the building. He then sprinted to where the group was standing, but then turned to view the damage.

The place was a mess. Honestly, Alex wasn't sure how much of it had previously been caused by Max, but everything was either scattered on the floor, or in a disorganized heap on the work tables. Much of it had probably been about to be sucked in by the black hole.

Just then, Alex's gaze fell on a shiny green material stuck under a pile of toys. Since no one was looking at her in particular, she quickly picked it up to find that it was a chocolate mint wrapper. While typically nothing unusual, it made Alex pause. She'd been in the kitchens all day, and she knew that the North Pole kitchens didn't wrap their candies. The few wrapped items they had, they didn't make anything like the one she had in her hand. Curious, she stuffed it in her pocket, to be further examined later on.

Meanwhile, Santa had let out a long whistle and turned to the center's head elf. "Tim? Update, please?"

"Those three saved this whole building," Tim said as he indicated the siblings. "It was growing, but they cast a spell to stop it. We lost about a day's worth of work, maybe more."

Upset, but grateful, Santa turned to the siblings. "Thank you all so much. It's great to know that there's a way to stop these things when they form. I only wish you three could be around here twenty-four/seven until Christmas."

Alex shrugged. "Hey, I'm not doing anything important..." She had to admit she liked the complex, and wouldn't mind hanging out there more than her assigned community service hours.

"Uh, you have school," Justin reminded her.

"I don't know about you, Justin," Alex replied with over-dramatic emotion in her voice. "But _I'm _willing to sacrifice _my_ eduction to make sure Christmas happens this year, for all the good children of the world."

"Yeah, what she said," Max agreed.

"Cute, you two," Jerry retorted, then looked at Santa. "Since my kids can't be here all the time, I can talk to Professor Crumbs about it. You've heard of him, right? He's the headmaster at Wiztech, very prominent figure in the wizard world."

Santa nodded. "Of course. But what would he be able to do? The complex already has its own magic that has protected it for hundreds of years, and whoever is doing this has been able to get through that easily enough."

At that, Jerry paused, as if admitting that Santa had a point. "Well, yeah, but there has to be something wizard magic can do that I'm just not thinking of, or don't know about. Maybe Professor Crumbs knows a protection spell that can guard against the evil wizard magic coming in."

"Okay, well, I guess there's no harm in letting him come here and seeing what he can do," Santa replied, then once again looked around at the mess. "Alright, Jerry, you contact Professor Crumbs. As for you kids, do you mind staying back and helping to clean up? The faster we can get the place fixed up and operational again, the better."

Tim indicated the black hole. "What are we supposed to do about that thing?"

Reluctantly, Santa replied, "Work around it. I know it'll be hard, but I don't know where else you can set up shop."

About to argue, Tim saw the frustration in Santa's face and simply nodded. "Sure, boss. Maybe we can put a wall around it or something - both so no one falls in, and so no one's scared by it."

"Good, you get on that. Please excuse me, I have to go...do about a million other things," Santa replied with an apologetic frown, and ran out of the center.

The rest were left with a tense, worried atmosphere that was somewhat broken when Max spoke up. "He seems stressed out."

"Captain Obvious strikes again," Alex remarked.

"Alex," Jerry warned, then sighed. "Justin, you come with me, I'm going to need your magic to contact Professor Crumbs, since I don't know where the wizard world portal is in this place. Alex, Max, you stay here and help clean up."

"Yes, sir!" Alex replied with a mocking salute.

* * *

After a long day of volunteer work, an exhausted Alex and her family trudged through the portal into their lair at around seven that night. Santa and his wife Elizabeth, aka Mrs. Claus, had insisted that the family stay for dinner with them and the elves. It had been a nice meal, with Alex seated between new friends Ethan and Chelsea. Of course, the main topic of conversation had been the Black Hole Problem, but the tone was kept light to avoid a tense atmosphere. Since Ethan had become preoccupied with other business after dinner, he had quickly told them where the portal was so they could all get home on their own.

Her father had tried to contact Professor Crumbs when he said he would, but the old wizard was busy with other official matters and wouldn't be able to make it until the next day. This meant that her father would be making the trek back to the North Pole when she went back for more community service after school that week.

Justin had also offered to come with, probably to use the opportunity to suck up to the headmaster some more - after all, he would be applying to Wiztech University in the spring. No doubt Justin wanted the headmaster to see him doing volunteer work. And Harper wanted to come too, in order to gather more support for her clothing designs, which she would make sketches of that night. Her plan was to get a petition going, then show it and her sketches to Santa later that week. While she knew at this close to Christmas, a good percentage of doll presents were already made and ready to ship, but for her it was the principle of at least _some_ kids getting a doll wearing _her_ designs.

That left her mother and Max alone to run the shop the next day, which neither were happy about. But at least Jerry would only be going up for one day to meet Professor Crumbs, and would be able to work as well the rest of the week.

"How do elves _do_ it?" Alex asked as she practically fell into the lair, then flopped onto the couch. "So totally _exhausting_..."

Justin smirked, although the weariness in his eyes proved he was tired too. "This is what putting in a full day of work is like, Alex. Granted, the North Pole is a lot busier than whatever fast food restaurant you'll eventually be working at."

"You think you're so clever, don't you?" Alex retorted as she glared at him, too worn out to think of a better comeback.

After she let out a big yawn, Theresa checked her watch. "It's only seven, guys, no one's going to bed yet. Jerry, we need to get the shop ready for tomorrow. And Max, you still have homework to do."

"Can't I do it tomorrow morning?" Both father and son whined in unison.

Theresa shook her head. "Nope, come on you two."

About to leave the room, Harper spotted her sketch pad and pencil on the recliner near the door. "There it is! I was wondering where I left my sketch pad!" She then grabbed as she sat down in the chair.

Since Alex was halfway to dreamland, Justin was the one to ask, "Wait, you draw in our lair?"

"Is that not okay?" Harper asked, worried. "It's just that there's so many colors and textures and odd shapes in here...it inspires me."

Justin thought about it for a second, then shrugged. "Fine with me, I guess. I need to look something up though. All this talk about Santa reminds me of that one time I saw it in a history book..." He trailed off as he began scanning the book shelf.

"What is it? Is it something that could help Santa?" Harper asked as she began to sketch.

"I don't know for sure," Justin replied. "But if I'm remembering correctly, it could lead us to whoever is doing this."

Though about to fall asleep on the couch, Alex managed to open her eyes slightly to pay attention to the conversation. She was actually a little curious to know what Justin had found. But she kept her eyes closed just enough so they wouldn't know she was actually interested in her brother's theory. _Of course _he _would be the one to find the information that saves Christmas_, Alex thought with some bitterness. _As if he hasn't shown off enough today by coming up with that spell earlier._

"Oh, here it is, _The Encyclopedia of Legendary Figures_," Justin said as he pulled the volume from the shelf. He flipped to the section on Santa Claus and skimmed to the right passage. He smiled with satisfaction. "Just like I thought. 'If an heir does not successfully complete their first Christmas as Santa Claus, the position will be passed on to the next family member in line.'"

Harper's eyes widened in understanding. "So the culprit is whoever is next in line."

"Right," Justin replied. "I don't know why we didn't think of it sooner - it's like royalty, when a king passes the throne on to his son. All we have to do is ask Santa or his father about it tomorrow."

While a smug Justin put the book back on the shelf, and Harper went back to her sketching, Alex finally turned over and closed her eyes. _Let's hope Santa or his father has a family tree handy_, she thought as she fell into a deep, much-needed sleep.


End file.
